This is my fist film blog of the New Year, so as it was the 74th Golden Globes last night, I have decided to start the year off with a post on the best films of the previous year/those still yet to be released.

Below are the lists of the film/television winners and nominees from the award ceremony hosted last night, held by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Of those I have seen, the winners are rightly so – and those I have not yet seen, I am extremely excited to!

Similarly, the hype surrounding this award ceremony has made me pumped for the Academy Awards that are to be held on the 26th of February 2017.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionOlivia Coleman (‘The Night Manager’): WinnerLena Headey (‘Game of Thrones’): Nominee
Chrissy Metz (‘This is Us’): Nominee
Mandy Moore (‘This is Us’): Nominee
Thandie Newton (‘Westworld’): Nominee

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionHugh Laurie (‘The Night Manager’): WinnerSterling K. Brown (‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’: Nominee
John Lithgow (‘The Crown’): Nominee
Christian Slater (‘Mr Robot’): Nominee
John Travolta (‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’): Nominee

Synopsis:‘La La Land’ is about Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress who waits on movie stars, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician who plays cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, both of whom aspire for greater things. As success hits, the fabric of their love affair begins to fray, and the American Dream they worked so hard to maintain begins to tear them apart.

Why to be excited:This film is written and directed by Damien Chazelle, who wrote and directed ‘Whiplash’ (2014), which is one of my favourite films about music. Chazelle did such a fantastic job of recreating the passion/emotion musicians feel at striving to hit their musical potential in ‘Whiplash’ (both J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller did amazing jobs), so I am extremely excited to see what he does with this musical. ‘La La Land’ has the appearance of a classic Hollywood style romance film (with the movie studio settings, the mood lighting and the romantic colours), which I adore. I only like certain romance films, and this has the winning composition to be included in this list. It looks really classy, and Ryan Gosling is devastatingly handsome, and I can’t wait to watch this….

Synopsis:‘Split’ is about a man named Kevin (James McAvoy), who experiences extremely bad schizophrenia (a mental illness where Kevin is able to change his body chemistry with his thoughts – he essentially has a split personality). He kidnaps a car of 3 girls, and holds them captive. They then have to deal with Kevin’s 23 different personalities in order to help them escape. However, a final personality (“The Beast”) begins to materialise…

Why to be excited:This film is written and directed by M Knight Shyamalan, who is best known for his film the ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999), which in my eyes is an absolute classic, and still retains the impact it had on me when I first watched it! Similarly, last year I watched ‘The Visit’ (2015), which is another psychological thriller that I frequently recommend to people as it blew me away. This is because M Knight Shyamalan’s films are predominantly psychological thrillers, which have a style that border on horror (as they are so dark). Their psychological element toys with your mind, and make you unsettled and captivated in the same instance, which is why they leave such a lasting impression. From the advert, I can tell that ‘Split’ will no less do this, especially with James McAvoy at the helm. Definitely another film I am extremely excited to see!

Synopsis:‘Live by Night’ is set in 1920s America during the Prohibition era, when an underground network of gangsters helps to ensure the flow of booze to speakeasies across the country. Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is the son of the Boston Police Superintendent, but turns his back on his strict upbringing for the spoils of being an outlaw. However, Coughlin crosses a powerful mob boss by stealing his money and his moll, which ultimately ends badly.

Why to be excited:

I studied American Studies at University, and this my favourite era in American history (I love the music, literature, fashion, and overall culture of the 1920s). There is something about gangster films that are so seductive and badass, that it’s just hard to get a gangster film wrong. Furthermore, there are a lot of big names behind this film (it is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, and is edited by Oscar-winning William Goldenberg – to name a few), and is written and directed by Affleck himself. I am so excited about this, as the last film I watched with him in (that he had written and directed) was ‘The Town’ (2010), which was a modern-day bank robber film, and was just perfect. ‘Live by the Night’ has the same potential.#

2017 looks amazing for films (especially with the Oscars just around the corner).